OK, returning to where I left off…I moved back to Healthcare in another startup company and found that computers and jobs are completely different when I actually HAD to do all the networking, administration and user support myself. Now I was working 10 hour days because I was in the crucial position of being the only person in the company who could keep the shop running. And no, this isn’t a pat-on-the-back-I’m-someone-important-now statement. I was the only hardware guy in the department, and everyone else was a software developer. Whenever a server shit itself or a PC died, I was the go-to guy. Go to the computer shop and get parts. Go to another company to beg for manuals. Go to hell, hardwaremonkey. The experience was incredible, though. I figured out that I could survive working longer hours with the help of Mr. Happy Hour.

Staying in Healthcare, I jumped over to a different startup in the same capacity with the added responsibilities of budgets and project planning. But I got more money and better “flex time”. I could have any day off I wanted as long as it was Saturday or Sunday. Well, I also got the occassional Golf Day. Startups can really groom you to work long hours efficiently while having a shit-ton of fun, but after a year and a half I got burned out. Actually, the environment that evolved by that time destroyed my ethusiasm and drive. It had all the politics, pettiness and foolishness of a large corporation, while retaining the charm of a small company–instability, uncertainty and a predilection for overstaffing.

The one really outstanding part of this company was still the hardware team, of which I was no longer a part. I stepped back and mired myself in policy and procedure implementation. They were amazingly competent, and I really missed being “in the fold”. It was at this point I decided to cut my hours back since staying late no longer offered the high I had when I started. I would get up and head to the office at the crack of Noon, have lunch at 1pm, get back to check email and leave for home around 3pm. Golf Days came more often than Work Days. I had come full circle to my college life.

Speaking of full circles, my current position has been great, because I am now an hourly employee at a Healthcare facility that doesn’t tolerate too much overtime. I’ve actually been asked to leave but not in the way that the bouncer makes you leave the bar if you’re still there at 2:35am. I get asked if I want to leave since my hours are over the normal 40/week. Who the hell would say no? For the last 8 months I have been working 7am-3:30pm and would regularly get to leave a bit early on Fridays, and I had no problems with that arrangement. Oh, an aside: don’t get me wrong, I DO NOT think my career is a special case. I think 40 hours is the minimum most people work these days. Anyway, I said yesterday that it will be awesome working 4 10’s, but not for the obvious reason. I was wrong. The obvious reason is what makes it awesome.

Will I enjoy working 10 hours a day with a guaranteed 3 day weekend?

You bet your monkey-ass I will.

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